Experimental

After a 70-year absence, it appears that a new rigid frame airship will soon be taking to the skies over California. Aeros Corporation, a company based near San Diego, has received experimental airworthiness certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to begin flight testing the Aeroscraft airship and, as these new photographs of the airship undergoing tethered testing show, the company has wasted no time in getting started.
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Normally, a spacecraft slamming into a planet’s surface at the speed of sound is considered a bad thing, but the European Space Agency (ESA) plans to do just that. As part of its Core Technology Programme for Cosmic Vision, the agency fired a pair of experimental surface penetrators from a rocket sled at a test facility at the UK Military of Defence Pendine site in Wales last July. The goal is to find ways of delivering instruments beneath the ground or ice of alien worlds without drilling.
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Japanese architectural firm Kengo Kuma & Associates recently demonstrated its ethos of design inspired by light and nature with an experimental house in Hokkaido called "Même." The structure is designed for cold climates and whilst based upon the local Ainu people's “Chise” (House of the Earth), it uses modern materials for an insulated double skin membrane that promotes convection and maintains a comfortable internal environment due to heat circulation from its continually lit fire.
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Imagine that you are flying along in your own aircraft when, suddenly, the engine stops. Now what? In a logical extension of the technologies now available, Laminar Research's Austin Meyer and avionics outfit Vertical Power have come up with a system designed to comprehensively answer that question by locating your best emergency runway option and getting you safely there - the VP-400.
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Researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute have succeeded in using a new form of laser cooling method to cool a two and a half square millimeter semiconducting gallium arsenide (GaAs) membrane with a thickness of 160 nm from room temperature to four degrees above absolute zero - the temperature of liquid helium.
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With a growing focus on powder and backcountry riding, some of the snowboard designs that have come out over the past few seasons look more like original designs from the 60s and 70s than modern day equipment. They have swallowtails, pointy noses and odd profiles. Some - like the Rome Hammerhead - just look downright strange and otherworldly. With the launch of its new experimental division known as Shape Shack, Colorado-based Venture Snowboards plans to take this trend a step further in designing all kinds of Franken-boards. It may just come up with odd yet functional board designs that big companies just aren't developing.
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Unlike many of the concept cars we see at auto shows that are dummied up with clay, smoke and mirrors, Rolls Royce has always pursued an entirely different philosophy, building fully functioning “experimental vehicles.” Each such car is meticulously hand-built to investigate how the potential production model will operate in real world conditions. The first such vehicle (1EX) was constructed in 1919, predating the 1938 Buick Y-Job (often claimed to be the world’s first concept car) by almost two decades. The “Torpedo” styled 10EX was built in 1926 as a sports car version of the Phantom 1 and after many modifications, lapped Brooklands at an average speed of 91.2 mph. Most importantly, it stayed in the company as a staff car and occasional celebrity courtesy car for six years, being driven by many people of note, such as Lawrence of Arabia who once borrowed it for a European trip. Apart from being exquisitely beautiful, 10EX was one of the world’s first concept cars, has a splendorous and meticulously documented provenance, and … it’s for sale.
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Electrifying the Rolls-Royce was no simple matter. Luxury vehicle buyers in the EUR200,000 ++ segment know what they want – sumptuous comfort and effortless acceleration. Retaining Rolls Royce clientele is obviously paramount, so as the first pure electric car in the top-shelf segment, it's interesting to see what a brand with such stellar values has done. An aluminium space frame keeps weight down and the biggest automobile battery pack ever – 71 kWh – still only offers a range of 200 kilometers. Twin watercooled 145 kW electric motors offer a total 290 kW, which is less than the 338 kW Phantom 6.75-litre V12, but with even nicer power characteristics – a flat 800 Nm mid-range versus the peak 720Nm @3500 rpm of the V12. The range could be the limiting factor because everything else looks excellent.
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Rolls-Royce, one of the most enduring brands of automotive excellence, is developing a fully electric Phantom. The 102EX experimental vehicle will be shown in Geneva on March 1, and will tour Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North America this year to evaluate the opinions of its key stakeholders. The brand is launching a special web site which will be used to deliver information about the vehicle, the tour and to elicit stakeholder response.
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Loud snoring is not just a tiring irritation for partners but can also be a sign of sleep apnea. The National Institutes of Health reports that more than 12 million Americans suffer from the most common of the three varieties - obstructive sleep apnea, where the upper airway is repeatedly blocked during sleep. There are a number of treatment options already available and Minneapolis-based Inspire Medical Systems is about to add a shocking new addition to the treatment options on offer. The new system - which is about to enter clinical trials - electrically stimulates the nerve at the base of the tongue to keep it from blocking the air's journey to and from the lungs, and so offers the patient a good night's sleep.
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